Prince Harry’s ghostwriter today defended Spare from damaging claims about inaccuracies and historical errors, insisting “unintentional errors” are common in memoirs where “the line between memory and fact is blurred”.
JR Moehringer, who has also written autobiographies for Andre Agassi and Nike co-founder Phil Knight, defended the book, which he was reportedly paid $1 million to write.
Sharing an excerpt from Harry’s book, he stresses that the exiled prince himself sometimes admits he’s unsure about all the details he shares, often blaming childhood trauma. But in the same book he also emphasizes: “It is important that the story is right”.
Mr Moehringer tweeted Harry’s words last night: “Whatever the reason, my memory is my memory…there is just as much truth in what I remember and how I remember it as there is in so-called objective facts.” He tweeted also a quote from Mary Karr, author of The Art of Memoir, who said: “The line between memory and fact is blurred, between interpretation and fact. There are unintentional errors of this nature from the Wazoo.’
Harry has been accused of a litany of factual errors, including claiming he was descended from King Henry VI. stating that his mother gave him an XBox before it was made, and stating that Meghan Markle’s father bought a plane ticket from Mexico to London with Air New Zealand, which does not fly that route.
And today more errors surfaced, including his recollection of the Queen Mother’s funeral, an anecdote in which he criticized his stepmother Camilla, and British high street giant TK Maxx even corrected another claim in the bombshell book describing the purchase in the shop next to Kensington Palace with £200 describes shopping as much as possible in 15 minutes.
Prince Harry’s bombastic memoir is full of startling claims – and some have questioned the historical accuracy of the facts presented. JR Moehringer, Harry’s ghostwriter, on Wednesday defended the book, saying the memoir was about the person’s own view of events
JR Moehringer twice won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing — before turning to ghostwriting books. According to publisher Penguin, Spare is the fastest selling non-fiction book in UK history.
A week after Spare’s early release in Spain, journalist and author has defended Harry against claims he was inaccurate.
He took to Twitter to share multiple defenses.
Another quote from Mary Karr, he tweeted, read: “Neurologist Jonathan Mink, MD, explained to me that when memories are as intense as David’s, we often record only the emotion, blurring all the details into an unreadable smear.”
The Duke claimed he received an Xbox as a gift from his aunt, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, for his 13th birthday in 1997 – although the best-selling device didn’t arrive in the US until four years later in 2001.
He writes: “I tore up the wrapping paper, the ribbon. I peeked inside… It was an Xbox. I was pleased. I loved video games.
“Anyway, that’s the story. It has appeared as gospel in many accounts of my life and I have no idea if it is true. Pa said Mom hurt her head but maybe I was the one with brain damage?’
Prince Harry’s telltale autobiography, Spare, was officially launched on Tuesday
Moehringer retweeted a commenter in response to the criticism, saying: “It’s worth noting that when Harry IN THE BOOK talks about the XBox (which wasn’t yet released in 1997), he specifically states that he has no idea if it this particular memory is true and explains that his mother’s death messed up his memories.’
Moehringer also retweeted a commenter, saying, “Right there he says he doesn’t know if it’s true. Read it again.’
The New York-born author pointed out that Harry himself admitted that his memories were blurry at times.
“Landscape, geography, architecture, that’s how my memory works,” Harry said.
‘Events? Sorry I have to look them up.
‘Dialog? I’ll do my best but not make literal claims, especially when it comes to the ’90s.’
Several of the specific claims that Moehringer doesn’t address.
Harry wrote that Meghan bought Thomas Markle a first-class ticket from Mexico to the UK so he could escape concerns about harassment in his adopted homeland.
That ticket was from Air New Zealand, the Duke of Sussex claimed.
“We told him leave Mexico immediately: a whole new level of harassment is about to rain down on you, so come to the UK. Now,” revealed an excerpt from Spare.
“Air New Zealand, first class, booked and paid for by Meg.”
Air New Zealand has said it has never operated flights between Mexico and the UK – and it doesn’t offer first class service.
“We have never had flights between Mexico and the UK. And we only have Business Premier,” an Air NZ spokesman told the New Zealand Herald.
Harry claimed in Spare that Meghan bought Thomas Markle a first-class Air NZ ticket from Mexico to the UK so he could avoid harassment in his adopted homeland
The book reveals that the Sussexes rejected the late Queen’s suggestion that Meghan should fly to Mexico to try to salvage her relationship with her father (pictured).
In Spare the Duke writes about his “great-great-great-great-great-grandfather”, King Henry VI. (above), who founded Eton College and died in 1471
Historians and pundits have criticized the inaccuracy and lack of fact-checking for a non-fiction project said to have cost £16m ($20m).
Other questions about the accuracy of the bomb memoirs were raised after observant readers found other inaccuracies on social media.
In Spare, the Duke writes of his “great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather”, King Henry VI, who founded Eton College and died in 1471 – despite the fact that Henry VI’s direct lineage after his son Edward of Westminster died a childless teenager at the Battle of Tewkesbury.
Prince Harry’s actual great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was King George III, who reigned from 1760 to 1811, more than three centuries after the death of Henry VI.
Historians were quick to take to social media to question the accuracy of Harry’s connection to Henry VI, the last of the Lancastrian dynasty.
Royal correspondent Patricia Treble pointed out the genealogical error and the fact that Henry VI. After the death of his son in 1471 he had no descendants.
The Duke’s retelling of learning of the Queen Mother’s death has also been questioned, with many arguing he was in Klosters, Switzerland, not Eton College in Windsor, the weekend his grandmother died , United Kingdom.
The Duke of Sussex wrote in meticulous detail about a call he received while studying at Eton College, telling him that his great-grandmother had died on March 30, 2002.
He writes: “While studying at Eton, I answered the phone.
“I wish I could remember whose voice was on the other end; a courtier, I believe.
“I remember it was just before Easter, the weather was bright and warm, and light slanted through my window, filled with vibrant colors.”
Resurfaced photos appear to place the prince in Klosters, Switzerland, the weekend the Queen Mother died
Prince Harry is in a car as he and his brother, Prince William, and father, Prince Charles, drive home from a ski trip in Klosters
Princes William and Harry and their father Prince Charles with the Queen Mother during celebrations for her 101st birthday on August 4, 2001
However, resurfaced photos show Harry posing alongside his brother William and father Charles in a media briefing on March 29, having recently shaken off a bout of glandular fever to hit the slopes in time.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Web: “The evidence shows that he was undoubtedly at Klosters when the Queen Mother died.
“This portrait of Eton, ‘the weather is bright and warm, the light slanted… vivid colours’, is therefore inaccurate.”